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Dream hummed as he stirred the scrambled eggs around in the pan. Just some mindless Taylor Swift. A GeorgeNotFound vod stream played in the background. An old video, back during the peak of covid when they all were alone in their rooms. He chuckled to himself at the harmless jokes they all said during that time. He turned off the burner and continued to let the hot pan cook the eggs the rest of the way, before grabbing two plates and setting them down. One half of the eggs went to him, the other half to Sapnap. Toast popped, and he grabbed the warm bread and spread butter and jelly on each, before setting one on each plate. A good breakfast, if he does say so himself.
As Dream brought the plates into the living room, where the vod was playing on the big screen, he smiled at Sapnap as he walked into the living room. He probably woke up from the egg smell if Dream had to guess. “Hey. Breakfast,” Dream said, and Sapnap smiled tiredly at him, sitting down next to him without another word and accepting his plate. A routine for them. Dream made breakfast, Sapnap came down to eat, and would praise Dream’s cooking and thank him after he woke up a bit more. Dream assumed today would be no different.
“Thank you,” Sapnap whispered, almost catching Dream off guard with how quickly he spoke.
“Of course, man, not a problem,” Dream mumbled, taking a bite of his toast as Sapnap shoved his face with the eggs. If his face was anything to go off of, they were perfect. Like always. “Are you alright? You seem… sad?”
“I miss George,” Sapnap said easily. They’ve talked about how much they miss their third. “I know I can call him, but…”
“It’s just different,” Dream agreed, nodding as he ate some of his eggs. “I get it. And you know I do.”
Sapnap nodded, “I…” He paused, before clearly deciding against it and shoving more food in his mouth. Though, Dream’s curiosity was piqued now.
“What?” Dream asked, and Sapnap shook his head.
“I really shouldn’t. You wouldn’t like it if I told someone else a secret of yours that… was like… really important, even if it’s just us. He needs to tell you- in fact, I don’t even think he knows. So- just-”
“Relax,” Dream said, setting the plate down and placing a hand on Sapnap’s knee. “Okay, I won’t push. But that’s a heavy reaction, Sapnap. Is George okay?”
“If he wasn’t I would tell you that,” Sapnap promised. “Just…if he needs or wants me to. I’ll tell you. If he even…recognizes it. If he doesn’t? Don’t worry about it. Seriously, it’s nothing bad.”
“Okay,” Dream said, slowly pulling his hand back, grabbing his food again, and eating a forkful of eggs.
Though the thought lingered, Dream dropped the subject. Sapnap fell into silence again as he ate, deep in thought, and a little too serious for Dream’s liking. So, Dream did what any best friend would do. He set his plate down once again, adjusted his positioning, and laid against Sapnap in an attempt to be annoying. Immediately, the vibes changed as Sapnap chuckled, trying to wiggle Dream off his shoulder.
“Dude, I’m trying to eat,” Sapnap laughed, setting his plate down next to Dream’s. “What’re you doing?” he asked as Dream became deadweight against him.
“I’m tired,” Dream drawled, “Rock me to sleep.”
“Can’t do that,” Sapnap said, trying to push Dream off of him again. “We have meetings today-” he laughed.
“Ugh, I don’t wanna be an adult, don’t remind me,” Dream groaned, falling off Sapnap’s shoulder and onto his lap.
Sapnap just smiled fondly at him with a playful eyeroll. Dream returned the smile, happy to make his friend feel better. A couple sharp knocks at the door caught their attention. Dream moved off Sapnap’s lap, and as usual, Sapnap stood to open the door. Dream could hear a couple of words being exchanged, but he couldn’t really see who was at the door.
That question was answered when Sapnap came back with two boxes, stacked, and sat them down in front of the coffee table with a soft grunt. “I forgot I ordered shit,” Sapnap mumbled, grabbing his food and shoveling more food into his mouth.
“What’d you order?” Dream asked, tilting his head curiously.
“Oh… just stuff,” Sapnap shrugged, now avoiding the question and eye contact.
“Nick, what’d you order?” Dream asked, pulling out the full name card.
“You can’t do that! That’s not allowed!” Sapnap whined, setting the plate down. “Full name usage is not permitted unless we’re in an argument or at the doctors or something! This is everyday conversation!”
“What’d you order?” Dream asked again.
“Stuff for when you regress,” Sapnap said shyly, and Dream groaned, putting his head down into his lap and covering his face with his hands. “That's why I said stuff , Dream. I just think you need more than a couple pacifiers, a single stuffed animal, and Christmas jammies.”
“How much was everything?” Dream asked, and Sapnap scoffed.
“I’m not telling you! And I ordered it off a private amazon account so you don’t have access to the price! You’re not paying me back,” Sapnap insisted.
“Well, how much did you buy?” Dream asked, “Just this?”
“There should be… at least two more packages on the way,” Sapnap said sheepishly, and Dream groaned again. “You needed stuff! Toys, more clothes, plastic plates and cups so you don’t risk breaking things.”
“You ordered four boxes worth of these things?” Dream asked.
“Most of its toys and clothes,” Sapnap mumbled. “I even ordered cute child bandaids for when you get boo-boos.”
“You know I’m not reverting back to a physical child, right? You don’t have to do all this,” Dream reasoned.
“You are mentally,” Sapnap argued, sitting down on the short end of the L couch. “Why not have things that help your child mind?”
“Because I’m not a child,” Dream decided.
“But you are, mentally, sometimes ,” Sapnap argued again. “Dammit, Clay-”
“Hey, you said no real names!” Dream reminded.
“I get a freebie!” Sapnap insisted. “Anyway! You have a headspace where you are a child, and I’m the one you’ve dubbed to take care of that headspace, so that’s what I’m going to do. I know this is difficult. You’ve not allowed yourself to be taken care of, not fully, not yet. When you regress again, let me show you how good having this stuff can and will be.”
They had a mini staring contest for a while. Arguing with their eyes as George’s laughter filled their silence from the TV. Then, Dream sighed and put his head back into his hands.
“Alright, fine. You win,” Dream conceded, and Sapnap smiled.
“I promise, you’re not gonna hate it as much as you think you will,” Sapnap decided.
“Where the hell are we gonna store all of this?” Dream asked, “And what about when George comes? The hell are we gonna tell him?”
“Trust me, by the time George is here… he’ll fully understand,” Sapnap promised, and Dream pressed his eyebrows together. “In the meantime. There is an empty room right next to yours… and my mom just so happens to need one of my little sisters' old toy boxes out of their garage.”
“A play room?” Dream asked.
“Mhm. A space for little you, next to the space for big you,” Sapnap said, “I’ll take care of setting everything up and cleaning it. You don’t even have to go in there when you’re big, just… let me take care of it.”
“You’re going to do it anyway, aren’t you?” Dream asked.
“Yes, I’m just hoping to have your support when I do it so I don’t feel guilty for it,” Sapnap responded with a smile.
“And my support you have. And if you need help, just let me know,” Dream said, returning the smile.
(-8-)
Dreamie giggled as he spun around in his chair. The computer screen was playing Bluey, of course, while Sapnap was working in the room next door. Setting up furniture in the playroom. They still needed the toybox, but Sapnap’s step mom was shipping that to them. So, right now, Sapnap was working on putting some shelves up. Dreamie was content in his jammies, holding Pop the bear and a new friend, a cat plush he named Patchie, of course (but the real Patchie was better).
Dreamie jumped when the screen changed to a screen that said “GeorgeNotFound Incoming call”. Of course, Dreamie clicked the big green button. It was green! Green was good!
“Hey Dream,” A familiar voice said, and Dreamie giggled. Gogy! Dreamie liked Gogy. Mama did too!
“Hai,” Dreamie whispered, hiding behind his polar bear.
“Are you alright?” George asked, and Dreamie hummed in response. Suddenly, the screen in front of him changed again, and Gogy was on his screen! Dream giggled, looking around on his own screen and seeing something that looked like a camera. Maybe that’ll make Gogy bigger!
He clicked it, which in turn, turned on his own webcam. George blinked in confusion. Dream never turns his camera on. In fact, George has only seen his face once. “Hey… are you okay?” George asked, confused as he adverted his eyes.
“Yus,” Dreamie whispered, intent on making Gogy bigger. He finally figured out how to make the call full screen and he smiled in pride. “Hai Gogy!” he waved at the screen.
George smiled, it was so endearing that he couldn’t help it. “Hi, Dreamie. Whatcha got there?”
“Dis Pop, and Dis fak’e Patchie,” Dream introduced, holding up each stuffed animal. “Mama got them for me.”
“Your mum got them?” George asked.
“Mm? No’s… Mama dids,” Dream said, confused as to why Gogy didn’t understand.
“Oh-okay,” George said, confused as well but didn’t dwell. He felt that fuzziness coming on again. “Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to record a video… but, I can see you’re… busy. And now I don’t feel so good,” George whispered.
“Yous otay?” Dreamie asked, sitting up more. “Yous ne’ds Mama?”
“Who’s Mama?” George asked, blinking slowly and leaning his head against his hand.
“Mama!” Dream called, turning to face the door. “Gogy ne’ds yous!” He called again.
Two minutes passed before Dream’s door opened, and Sapnap came into the room. “What, Cubbie?” Sapnap asked, stepping forward. “When’d you get on the phone? You were meant to be watching Bluey- Hey George, you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” George insisted.
“Nos, Gogy says ‘e feel’in funnies,” Dreamie insisted, “Right, Gogy?”
“The fuzziness is coming back again, but I’m fine-” George insisted.
“Where’s that stuffed animal? Elli was it? Maybe she can help,” Sapnap insisted.
“Why would a stuffed animal help?” George asked, pressing his eyebrows together.
“The same reason Pop and Patchie help Dreamie when he feels fuzzy,” Sapnap reasoned, running a hand through Dreamie’s hair. “George, have you considered you’re an age regressor?”
“A what?” George asked, scratching the side of his head just behind his ear.
“An age regressor. Mentally, you revert back to a younger age. Typically below ten, but there are times when some people revert to preteen or early teenage years, though I don’t think it’s as common. It’s a way to cope with childhood trauma, or just a way to cope with stress in general.”
“I don’t-”
“Remember when you had that panic attack? You said you felt fuzzy and I talked you through to feel better?” Sapnap asked, and George nodded. “You regressed there, I could tell. You said you felt too ‘big’ right? When you regress, you’re ‘little’.”
“So… what’s the fuzzy feeling?” George whispered.
“You're drifting between the two headspaces probably. The stuffed animals are like trigger objects to help you regress. Along with the jammies, or some snacks that you’d consider a child to eat,” Sapnap explained. “Do you wanna try regressing with your stuffed animal?”
“How do I-?” George mumbled.
“Just grab her, hold her. If something else is tugging at your childish side around you, grab that too. Like a snack or some clothes,” Sapnap said, looking down at Dreamie who smiled before looking back up at Sapnap.
“Mama’s a b’ig hewlp,” Dreamie said proudly, and George smiled.
“Okay, I can try,” George whispered, taking his headphones off and standing, leaving their screen for a bit.
“Did you call him, honey?” Sapnap asked, and Dream shook his head.
“Nos, saws a big gween buton, so clwicked it. An’ den gogy was dere!” Dreamie explained, and Sapnap smiled.
“Okay, but big you didn’t want to show Gogy your face yet. You were meant to be a surprise for him when he got here,” Sapnap explained. “It’s okay, no ones angry. I can see it on your face, you think I’m angry.”
“I did’n knos,” Dreamie whispered.
“And I know you didn’t,” Sapnap said, kissing his forehead. “I’m not upset, baby. I’ll just have to explain to big you that the surprise can’t be a surprise anymore, so we’ll have to do something else for Gogy, okay? Do you wanna help set up the new surprise with me?” Sapnap asked, getting Dreamie to perk up and smile.
He nodded quickly, “Yus! Yus!” He giggled, sitting up even more.
“Okay, well, let’s brainstorm later, okay?” Sapnap suggested, and Dreamie nodded excitedly. “Don’t tell him. Just between us. Here he comes.”
“What’re you two talking about?” George asked, curling up in his seat with his elephant.
“Nothin’ just about what’s gonna happen when you get here,” Sapnap said, and Dreamie giggled. “Feeling any better?”
“A little bit, but I don’t know what else to do…” George said meekly, and Sapnap smiled.
“Well, why don’t you tell me the story about little Elli and you? I’ll screen share Dreamie’s cartoon and let that play in the background. I think that’ll help immensely,” Sapnap promised, already typing away on Dream’s computer.
“Okay, well… I got Elli when I was about 4 or 5 years old, or that’s what my Mum tells me,” George started, and Sapnap smiled as he went on about the elephant, and slowly, his speech slowly slurred. “Ans I habe Elli eber since,” George finished his story. “Wat bout Dweamies?” He asked, completely unaware of the slip.
“Patchie’s news!” Dreamie said proudly, holding up the stuffed cat. “An’ Pop ’s Mama’s. But ‘he’s gives to me’s, w’en’s firs’ swip.”
Sapnap rubbed Dreamie’s head gently as he spoke. The littles babbled back and forth, and Sapnap sat down on the bed watching them intently.
“Dreamie, baby, are you hungry?” Sapnap asked, and Dreamie looked over at him nodding. “Alrighty, I’ll get you a snack. Georgie, honey, do you have a snack around you?”
“I habe aminal cwackewrs,” George said, holding up the snack.
“Very good, I’ll be right back. You two be good,” Sapnap said, kissing Dreamie’s head and leaving the room, keeping the door cracked of course.
“Mama ‘s ‘mazing,” Dreamie said, “Wen’s you come homes, Mama tak’s cawre of ‘ous toos,” Dreamie promised.
“I wike dat,” Georgie whispered, putting his face into his elephant.
Dreamie giggled again. Spinning in his chair again. When Sapnap returned, Dreamie looked up at him and accepted the bowl of goldfish. “Dankes mama!” Dreamie said, grabbing a handful of the snack and shoving it into his mouth.
“Anytime, baby. Georgie, do you feel better?” Sapnap asked.
“Yus. Dank you, Nana,” Georgie said, and Sapnap smiled.
“Of course, my little elephant,” Sapnap said and Georgie giggled, leaning back in his seat and curling up. “You two keep talking, I’m gonna clean up your room, Cubbie.”
“Otay, Mama. Do I’s hwelp?” Dreamie asked, and Sapnap shook his head.
“No baby, I've got it. You just talk to Georgie,” Sapnap said, kissing his forehead and moving to pick up some trash around the room and make Dream’s bed, distantly listening to the baby’s talk, and smiling to himself as Georgie would laugh freely and child-like.
Sapnap glanced over a couple of times, but the two were happily chatting. Creating new worlds and stories with their stuffed animals, giggling away at their respective screens. Sapnap smiled, he badly wished George could be here so he could take care of the Brit in person. But, for now, over the screen will have to do.